Inter Milan secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Venezia at the San Siro, bringing them within striking distance of Serie A leaders Napoli. Lautaro Martinez broke his eight-month home scoring drought in the league to deliver the crucial goal.
The Nerazzurri dominated possession and created numerous chances throughout the match, but struggled to find the breakthrough against a resilient Venezia defense. Federico Dimarco and Marcus Thuram both came close in the first half, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan saw a tap-in opportunity saved by Venezia goalkeeper Filip Stankovic.
Venezia nearly stunned the hosts when Joel Pohjanpalo set up Gaetano Oristanio, but Inter keeper Yann Sommer made a spectacular save to keep the scores level.
The deadlock was finally broken in the second half when Dimarco’s pinpoint cross found Martinez at the far post, who guided his header home. It was the Argentine’s first Serie A goal at San Siro since February.
Inter had chances to extend their lead, with Thuram missing a golden opportunity and Stankovic making several crucial saves. The visitors almost snatched a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time, but Marin Sverko’s effort was ruled out for handball after a VAR review.
This victory moves Inter to within one point of Napoli at the top of the table, setting up an exciting title race as the season progresses. While the performance wasn’t always convincing, Simone Inzaghi’s side showed their ability to grind out results in tight contests.
Goals: Lautaro Martinez 65 (I)
Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni (70′ Bisseck); Dumfries, Barella ( 70′ Calhanoglu), Zielinski (’84’ Frattesi), Mkhitaryan, Dimarco (76′ Darmian); Thuram, Lautaro Martinez (70′ Taremi)
Venezia (3-5-1-1): Stankovic; Idzes, Svoboda, Altare (46′ Sverko); Zampano (76′ Ellertsson), Crnigoj (46′ Busio), Nicolussi-Caviglia (’83’ Yeboah), Andersen (76′ Duncan), Haps; Oristanio; Pohjanpalo.
